:00:14. > :00:21.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor and Sarah
:00:21. > :00:31.Travers. The headlines this Thursday evening: He was our
:00:31. > :00:31.
:00:31. > :00:34.cracker - Belfast pays tribute to Frank Carson. He shall be missed.
:00:34. > :00:41.Frank came here on honeymoon and it became his adopted home. I'm live
:00:41. > :00:43.from Balbriggan. Re-sentence the supergrasses call -
:00:43. > :00:47.did the Stewart brothers break the leniency deal?
:00:47. > :00:50."Behave or you're out" - a warning for students this St Patrick's Day.
:00:50. > :00:57.The Ulster Bank loses �1 billion as the aftermath of the property crash
:00:57. > :01:02.takes it toll. Tens of millions of Pounds for local football, but how
:01:02. > :01:06.all the money be shared? And we've been milder than many places across
:01:06. > :01:11.Europe today but it looks like that's going to change in time for
:01:11. > :01:16.the weekend. I'll have more shortly. Frank Carson, the comedian who
:01:16. > :01:20.barely took a breath with one joke after another. Famous for his
:01:20. > :01:24.catchphrase, "It's a cracker, it's the way I tell 'em". Born in 1926,
:01:24. > :01:27.he was a Belfast man who never forgot where he came from. Friends
:01:27. > :01:32.and fans have spoken of his wit, his energy and kindness during his
:01:32. > :01:40.50 odd years in show-business. Conor Macauley reports on the man
:01:40. > :01:45.who had a natural talent to make people laugh. He was an
:01:45. > :01:50.accomplished showman he lived his life in the spotlight. Our very own
:01:50. > :01:54.king of the one-liners. What is the difference between my wife and a
:01:54. > :02:00.terrorist was like you can negotiate with a terrorist. The 85-
:02:00. > :02:08.year-old had cancer and had been ill for months. A BBC producer
:02:08. > :02:13.visited him recently. He was still able to make people laugh. He said,
:02:13. > :02:20.I don't think my wife loves me, and a dinner had to take this. I said,
:02:20. > :02:28.why? He said he had just had a heart attack and his wife wrote for
:02:28. > :02:33.an ambulance. He was a great, great human. If I could just turn the
:02:33. > :02:37.clock back 50 years... Frank Carson was born near Belfast docks and
:02:37. > :02:46.drilled his chartered for his comedy. They used to be a part in
:02:46. > :02:50.every corner here. They used to be a pub here called carols. It was
:02:50. > :02:56.one of those pubs where there was loads of fun and plenty of drinking.
:02:56. > :03:06.The sailors would come down every night and I remember an American
:03:06. > :03:09.
:03:09. > :03:14.coming in one time and saying, I love these are old fashioned pubs.
:03:15. > :03:23.Two Paddy's talking to the bar eating sandwiches, they say, you're
:03:23. > :03:27.not allowed to eat during food in here. So they swap sandwiches.
:03:27. > :03:34.he was preparing for panto with Les Dawson. His contemporaries regarded
:03:34. > :03:44.him as one of the best. For he is a funny man, not as funny as me but a
:03:44. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:58.funny man. He he enjoyed fame, but held firmly to his roots. You have
:03:58. > :04:07.made my day. Ruined your week! Could I give the this photograph?
:04:07. > :04:17.Oh, my goodness me. That is absolutely wonderful. Good God.
:04:17. > :04:19.
:04:19. > :04:27.Well, now, that is incredible. That is our house still standing. Happy
:04:27. > :04:36.memories. Frank Carson, the man with a big heart, he will long be
:04:36. > :04:39.remembered in his native city. Sphere -- The First and Deputy
:04:39. > :04:41.First Ministers said today a bit of colour had dropped out of
:04:41. > :04:44.everyone's life following Frank Carson's death. A book of
:04:44. > :04:48.condolence opened at Belfast City Hall and members of the public were
:04:48. > :04:51.quick to pay their tribute. A book of condolence has also been opened
:04:51. > :04:57.in the coastal town of Balbriggan, north of Dublin, where Frank lived
:04:57. > :05:07.for many years. He was just so wonderful in terms of the work he
:05:07. > :05:09.
:05:09. > :05:19.did, especially for charity. He was always full of humour and laughter.
:05:19. > :05:21.
:05:21. > :05:28.He was so funny. Things like, "It's a cracker, it's the way I tell 'em".
:05:28. > :05:38.A book of condolence has also been opened in the coastal town of
:05:38. > :05:45.
:05:45. > :05:50.We will try to get back to that, we have lost the link. Many people
:05:50. > :05:52.have been contacting a Facebook page about Frank Carson. If you
:05:52. > :06:02.would like to show you stories about him or indeed your favourite
:06:02. > :06:03.
:06:03. > :06:06.joke, you can Checkout the Facebook page. Still to come on the
:06:06. > :06:09.programme: Students warned they'll be expelled for anti social
:06:09. > :06:12.behaviour this St Patrick's day. More on the story we brought you
:06:12. > :06:15.last night about millions of pounds being released for soccer grounds
:06:15. > :06:19.here. Find out who the crowds will be screaming for at Belsonic this
:06:19. > :06:22.year. The Public Prosecution Service is
:06:22. > :06:24.to consider whether two supergrass brothers breached the terms of the
:06:24. > :06:32.deal which gave them shorter jail sentences in return for giving
:06:32. > :06:35.evidence. 12 men were yesterday acquitted at the end of a big UVF
:06:35. > :06:41.trial, following testimony from Robert and Ian Stewart. The judge
:06:41. > :06:43.said they'd clearly lied to the police and to the court. Stormont's
:06:43. > :06:48.justice committee today unanimously called for the minister to make an
:06:48. > :06:51.urgent statement to the Assembly. There is some flash photography at
:06:51. > :07:01.the start of this report from our Home Affairs correspondent, Vincent
:07:01. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:12.Kearney. These men spent 72 days in court accused of the murder of
:07:12. > :07:16.
:07:16. > :07:19.Tommy English and membership of the UVF. They tended to... We heard
:07:19. > :07:25.statements last night that there are still going to continue with
:07:25. > :07:31.this. We will be opposed to it every inch of the way. The main
:07:31. > :07:36.prosecution witnesses, Robert and Ian Stewart, signed an agreement
:07:36. > :07:40.and promised to tell the truth. In return, they each had their
:07:40. > :07:45.sentences reduced by 19 years. But the trial judge yesterday said they
:07:45. > :07:49.had lied to the police and the court. The solicitor for three of
:07:49. > :07:55.the defendants that today said the agreement should be reviewed.
:07:55. > :07:59.will now be racing with the director of the PPS the issue of
:08:00. > :08:09.whether these brothers should have their sentences referred back to
:08:10. > :08:21.
:08:21. > :08:24.the sentencing judge. In a Prosecution lawyers will now have
:08:25. > :08:31.to examine all of the evidence given by Robert and Ian Stewart
:08:31. > :08:37.during this trial will still be could be a long process. In order
:08:37. > :08:42.to deter the agreement, the Public Prosecutions Service will have to
:08:42. > :08:50.say that they knowingly failed to provide assistance. Some of
:08:50. > :08:57.servants believe there were also beef more supergrass -- there will
:08:57. > :09:01.be more supergrass trials. I think the stakes were too high to say
:09:01. > :09:05.that one failed case should bring an end to the system. I don't think
:09:05. > :09:14.that is right. The police have made it clear that they planned to
:09:14. > :09:17.continue using the legislation. Police officers investigating the
:09:17. > :09:22.recent spate of hijacking and Belfast have released computer-
:09:22. > :09:24.generated images of suspects they want to question. They are
:09:24. > :09:30.appearing by help from the public in tracking down these four men
:09:30. > :09:34.believed to have been involved in attacks targeted at women drivers.
:09:34. > :09:40.The police said they were deploying up to 60 officers daily to tackle
:09:40. > :09:46.the problem of car crime. As a result of these police officers
:09:46. > :09:56.being out on the ground, we have made over 65 arrests for different
:09:56. > :09:57.
:09:57. > :10:03.activities. People who are involved in a car hijacking are criminals.
:10:03. > :10:13.These are refs have ranged from simple common assaults right
:10:13. > :10:13.
:10:14. > :10:20.through to anything else -- these arrests. We can now go back to the
:10:20. > :10:30.story on thank Carson. Yes, her friend came to Balbriggan on his
:10:30. > :10:33.
:10:33. > :10:41.honeymoon -- Frank Kane. -- came. He came with his wife and they
:10:41. > :10:46.settled here for two decades. Even served two terms as mayor. I'm
:10:46. > :10:50.joined by some people that can tell me more about his time here. Tell
:10:50. > :10:55.me about his relationship with the town. He had a great relationship
:10:55. > :10:59.with Balbriggan. His heart was here. He loved the people, he always had
:10:59. > :11:05.a smile on his face and he was good for Balbriggan. He even wrote the
:11:05. > :11:10.song, lovely Balbriggan, for us. And you saw him perform that song
:11:10. > :11:16.when you're a little girl, is that right? We sang the song with him, I
:11:16. > :11:26.don't think I was that if -- that little. It was a great memory.
:11:26. > :11:32.chance of a few bars? Definitely not! This is his good friend. Tell
:11:32. > :11:36.me about your friendship with Frank. My friendship extended over 26
:11:36. > :11:41.years from the time Frank move to Balbriggan to this day. I would
:11:41. > :11:46.like to believe I was with him on his last public engagement when
:11:46. > :11:52.both of us attended the Royal Variety Command Performance last
:11:52. > :11:57.December in Manchester. It was my privilege to be there with him,
:11:57. > :12:01.indicative of the special relationship we had over the years.
:12:01. > :12:05.I also completing among many of his foreign visit. It is a memory I
:12:05. > :12:12.would treasure forever. And you spoke to him very recently? Believe
:12:12. > :12:16.it or not, during one of his lucid moments, they made a phone call
:12:16. > :12:26.from Blackpool to say goodbye. It was my pleasure. And he also had a
:12:26. > :12:29.last request? Frank's last -- lifelong ambition was to insure
:12:29. > :12:34.that I did everything I could to make sure that the Capel-le-Ferne
:12:34. > :12:38.roundabout at the top of the town would be called forever at the
:12:38. > :12:43.Frank Carson Capel-le-Ferne roundabout. And as Merav Balbriggan,
:12:43. > :12:50.is that something you can make happen? I was certainly bring it up
:12:50. > :13:00.at the council meeting. -- I will certainly. I'm sure it will happen.
:13:00. > :13:04.
:13:04. > :13:07.Everyone I have spoken to today has fond memories of francs. -- Frank.
:13:07. > :13:11.The University of Ulster has warned students they will be expelled if
:13:11. > :13:15.they get in trouble on son Patrick's Day. Queen's University
:13:15. > :13:21.is giving its students be long weekend in the hope it will
:13:21. > :13:25.encourage them to go home and help prevent anti-social behaviour.
:13:25. > :13:30.University of Ulster says that if any student crosses the line on St
:13:30. > :13:33.Patrick's Day, their number will be up. This video will be shown at
:13:33. > :13:38.campuses on the run-up to 17th March, which falls on a Saturday
:13:39. > :13:41.this year. University's vice- chancellors says it students who
:13:41. > :13:51.get involved in anti-social behaviour could be expelled within
:13:51. > :13:55.
:13:55. > :14:00.How will you explain this to your family? The students who have
:14:00. > :14:06.caused chaos on St Patrick's Day in the past have been in the minority,
:14:06. > :14:11.but they have caused misery for people in the Holylands area of
:14:11. > :14:14.Belfast. Residents here have asked both universities to give their
:14:14. > :14:18.students their long weekend, to encourage them to go home, and not
:14:18. > :14:23.be here for St Patrick's Day. The University of Ulster has decided
:14:23. > :14:26.not to do that, but Queen's University will be closing on the
:14:26. > :14:32.Friday and the Monday. The Pro- Vice-Chancellor of Queen's
:14:32. > :14:37.University says the council also asked for classes to be cancelled.
:14:37. > :14:43.We decided we would do that, and we hope that students will have their
:14:43. > :14:50.fun on the Thursday night, then go home for the weekend. And hopefully,
:14:50. > :14:56.Holylands will be quiet., so, what will students do like it I would
:14:56. > :15:01.say we will all go home. Probably just stay around and have a few
:15:01. > :15:05.drinks. I do not think there will be too many students around. I hope
:15:05. > :15:10.it does work, because we are due some peace here. It has been
:15:10. > :15:13.getting worse and worse as the years have gone by. They hope the
:15:13. > :15:21.stern warnings and the extended holiday will mean that this year
:15:21. > :15:27.there is no trouble, and less mess. The Ulster Bank, which is laying
:15:27. > :15:31.off 350 staff in Northern Ireland, made record losses of �1 billion
:15:31. > :15:36.across its entire operations last year. It is owned by UK taxpayers,
:15:36. > :15:41.and it remains our biggest local bank. Our business and economics
:15:41. > :15:46.editor, Jim Fitzpatrick, joins me now. �1 billion, that is a dramatic
:15:46. > :15:50.figure, why is it still losing money? It is largely down to the
:15:50. > :15:56.Irish property crash. Essentially, the bank are having to write down a
:15:56. > :16:02.lot of the loans and assets which they have. For instance, in their
:16:02. > :16:06.core division, they have written off �1.4 billion. If you look at
:16:06. > :16:13.the non-core division, where they have put the really bad stuff, they
:16:14. > :16:17.have written off more than �2 billion. It is almost equivalent to
:16:17. > :16:23.the amount of money spent running the Health Service and social
:16:23. > :16:30.services in Northern Ireland every year. How does that feed down to
:16:30. > :16:34.the real economy? It does have an impact. The bill will be reassured
:16:34. > :16:38.that there are no planned branch closures, but we have got 350
:16:38. > :16:42.people losing their jobs. In terms of businesses, they say it is
:16:42. > :16:49.harder to get money these days. I spoke to a businesswoman who has
:16:49. > :16:53.researched this issue, Joanne Stuart, who says it is having an
:16:53. > :16:56.impact. I think it is filtering through, because we are not seeing
:16:57. > :17:02.them lending money, and so businesses are not investing or
:17:02. > :17:08.growing. The only way the economy will grow is if our businesses can
:17:08. > :17:11.grow, and you need working capital to grow businesses. In the past,
:17:11. > :17:15.Northern Ireland businesses have relied heavily on the banking
:17:15. > :17:23.sector for that finance, which is why we need to think differently
:17:23. > :17:27.now. She is talking about banks in general, and they will not go back
:17:27. > :17:33.to the level of lending which we have seen in the past. We have also
:17:33. > :17:37.got news of a boardroom bust-up at UTV today. Yes, it is all happening.
:17:38. > :17:42.This is a kind of soap opera, the kind of thing which UTV would
:17:42. > :17:48.screen. It is a boardroom coup. Basically, the chairman for two
:17:48. > :17:54.decades, a director of UTV for four decades, has resigned as a director,
:17:54. > :17:57.and has been ousted as chairman. He turned up to a board meeting today,
:17:57. > :18:02.expecting to chair it, and that some point, the management moved
:18:02. > :18:10.against him, with two of the non- executive directors, and so he has
:18:10. > :18:14.resigned. This one could be heading for the court. 11 jobs are to go
:18:14. > :18:19.Lunn's jeweller's. They have a store at Queen's Arcade in Belfast
:18:19. > :18:26.city centre, with two more shops, in Victoria Square and in
:18:26. > :18:30.Londonderry. The job losses represent around 10% of the 98-
:18:30. > :18:33.strong workforce. In a statement, the company said it regretted
:18:33. > :18:37.having to start a consultation process which would lead to
:18:37. > :18:42.redundancies. Local football is about to receive a big financial
:18:42. > :18:46.windfall, but how will have the money be divided? Yes, as we
:18:46. > :18:51.revealed last night, a deal has been confirmed between the Irish
:18:51. > :18:56.Football Association and Linfield, for the use of Windsor Park, which
:18:56. > :19:00.is set to release millions of pounds for local projects. That
:19:00. > :19:04.will include the development of Brandywell. But while some clubs
:19:04. > :19:08.benefit more than others? This report from Austin O'Callaghan.
:19:08. > :19:12.When it comes to football, nobody likes missing an open goal,
:19:12. > :19:17.especially if there is money at stake. At a time when public
:19:17. > :19:25.finances have rarely had it so tough, football has rarely had it
:19:25. > :19:29.so good. And here are the figures to show you why. We have known for
:19:29. > :19:35.some time that more than �60 million is ring-fenced for soccer
:19:35. > :19:38.at part of the Stormont agreement. at part of the Stormont agreement.
:19:38. > :19:42.Of that, more than 25 million is ring-fenced for Windsor Park,
:19:42. > :19:48.leaving �36 million for the rest of local football. A significant chunk
:19:48. > :19:53.of that cash is set to go towards three key projects - the proposed
:19:53. > :19:57.new stadium for Glenn touring, the development of the Brandywell and a
:19:57. > :20:02.new national football academy. The remaining cash will be distributed
:20:02. > :20:08.amongst Irish League clubs, as well as grassroots projects. The
:20:08. > :20:15.potential cash windfall has been welcomed by Derry City football
:20:15. > :20:18.club, who are tenants, not owners, of the Brandywell. Some parts of
:20:18. > :20:23.the stadium are desperately out of date.
:20:23. > :20:25.Obviously everybody here pays tax and VAT, they pay their taxes to
:20:25. > :20:30.and VAT, they pay their taxes to the government, so why are they not
:20:30. > :20:37.entitled to a refurbishment of the stadium? Many parts of the stadium
:20:37. > :20:41.are about 80 years old, so this is good news for us. This is what a
:20:41. > :20:45.revamped Brandywell might look like in the future. Getting the football
:20:45. > :20:49.money to build it and will depend on the business cases for each
:20:49. > :20:55.project meeting Stormont's strict criteria, but it is clear that the
:20:55. > :20:59.political will, as well as the cash, is now in place. Rory McIlroy has a
:20:59. > :21:04.chance to become the world number 1 golfer this weekend, that's if he
:21:04. > :21:08.can win the World Matchplay tournament in Arizona. He won his
:21:08. > :21:12.opening game last night, against George Coetzee of South Africa.
:21:13. > :21:16.Five more victories, and McIlroy will be top of the rankings. His
:21:16. > :21:26.match last night included some moments of magical play, but he
:21:26. > :21:27.
:21:27. > :21:32.ended up almost blowing his lead. He eventually won the match on the
:21:32. > :21:38.18th hole. Northern Ireland's other two representatives are out after
:21:38. > :21:44.the first day. Graeme McDowell was very frustrated, after playing well.
:21:44. > :21:53.But he was eventually beaten by his South Korean opponent. And Darren
:21:53. > :22:01.Clarke lost by 5 and 4. One of the most famous pieces of sporting
:22:01. > :22:05.silverware in Gaelic Games is being replaced tonight. And we're getting
:22:05. > :22:09.a look tonight at the new version of the McCrory Cup. Our
:22:09. > :22:18.correspondent has the details, from Armagh. This is the old one, first
:22:18. > :22:22.played for in 1962, about to be put to sleep in that Cabinet. Now, the
:22:22. > :22:27.main business of the evening, the council chairman joins me now, for
:22:27. > :22:31.the official unveiling of this new McCrory Cup. It has been insured
:22:32. > :22:36.for �20,000, it is made of solid silver. You were the first man to
:22:36. > :22:40.lift the old one, exactly 50 years ago, can you believe it? I cannot
:22:40. > :22:47.believe it is that long. But at the time, it was a very prestigious
:22:47. > :22:51.competition to win. It was one of the main competitions amongst
:22:51. > :22:56.Ulster colleges at that particular time. Looking back at the standard
:22:56. > :23:06.of the football at that time, it was exceptional. Such an
:23:06. > :23:10.illustrious history as well, going back 100 years. Yes, the colleges
:23:10. > :23:17.was where a lot of us learned how football, and proceeded to move on
:23:17. > :23:22.to county teams and things like that. This man, his father did not
:23:22. > :23:28.receive a medal, he played 70 years ago, so, would you have this over
:23:29. > :23:36.to Paul, please. Briefly, what will this mean to your dad? Here he is,
:23:36. > :23:41.70 years ago, he played. This means everything to him. In 1942, he was
:23:41. > :23:45.vice-captain, he had a fall last night, and he asked me to represent
:23:45. > :23:49.him today. He said it was one of the best things over he did in
:23:49. > :23:55.football. You will be able to see the winner picking this up on 19th
:23:55. > :23:59.March, on the BBC. Finally tonight, cricket, and Andrew White made his
:23:59. > :24:07.200th appearance for Ireland today, helping them to a series clinching
:24:07. > :24:12.victory over Kenya. The line-up for this year's Belsonic music festival
:24:12. > :24:18.in Belfast has just been revealed, and top of the list is a man now in
:24:18. > :24:23.his 70s. It says here, you might need to get your smalls ready.
:24:24. > :24:30.Julie McCullough explains. The Belsonic is now into its fifth year.
:24:30. > :24:36.It has had some big headline acts in the past, but this year, it
:24:36. > :24:41.includes Tom Jones and Madness. You are the director of the festival -
:24:41. > :24:46.who are you trying to appeal to? event like this, over so many
:24:46. > :24:51.nights, in the city, it has to engage everyone. As such, which
:24:51. > :24:55.always try to have a wide selection of artists. This year I think we
:24:55. > :24:58.have really gone further with that, having the likes of Tom Jones. It
:24:58. > :25:02.is someone we have wanted to bring foreign number of years. We are
:25:02. > :25:06.really happy about it. Obviously we have some stuff for younger people
:25:06. > :25:15.as well. We're really pleased. have you got for the younger
:25:15. > :25:18.audience that stat I guessed the youngest audience we will have, we
:25:18. > :25:25.have got an artist who got three Grammys a couple of weeks ago, and
:25:25. > :25:33.we have got a local band as well, and we have got a few more tricks
:25:33. > :25:38.up our sleeve. If you put all of it together, it is a really mixed bag.
:25:38. > :25:43.Thanks for that. The festival kicks off in the middle of August.
:25:43. > :25:47.Tickets go on sale on Monday, and they would cost around �30. Well,
:25:47. > :25:50.it was as warm as the middle of August today. Indeed, we had very
:25:50. > :25:59.August today. Indeed, we had very mild temperatures right across
:25:59. > :26:08.Northern Ireland today. But the hotspot was Murdoch in County Down.
:26:08. > :26:12.-- Murlough. That temperature was the same as Barcelona. But it will
:26:12. > :26:17.not be lasting. We will be getting outbreaks of rain overnight, and
:26:17. > :26:22.colder air. Temperatures significantly lower than last night,
:26:22. > :26:32.and tomorrow will be cooler. But there will be plenty of sunny
:26:32. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:44.weather. Temperatures will range between 8 and 9 degrees. But at
:26:44. > :26:47.least it will be dry, and there will be plenty of bright weather.
:26:47. > :26:52.Into the second part of the day, not much will be changing. Tomorrow
:26:52. > :27:00.night will be a colder night, we could even have a touch of frost,
:27:00. > :27:06.particularly in southern areas. Further north, under the cloud, a
:27:06. > :27:13.bit warmer. Saturday is shaping up to be a decent day as well. Similar
:27:13. > :27:17.temperatures to Friday. Another chilly start, as we go into Sunday.
:27:17. > :27:22.Sunday morning, pretty decent, but by the end of the day, it will be
:27:22. > :27:25.turning a bit more unsettled, with a few spots of light drizzle, but
:27:25. > :27:30.temperatures back up into double temperatures back up into double
:27:30. > :27:35.figures. It has been a day of smiles, laughter and tributes to
:27:35. > :27:41.the late, great frank Carson. The family said that he was setting off
:27:41. > :27:45.for his final gig. He will be laid to rest on Saturday week. The
:27:45. > :27:49.family statement went on to say, "It's quieter down here now - God
:27:49. > :27:53.help them up there." Frank had something to say about that as well,
:27:53. > :28:01.and about what he wanted on his headstone. We will leave you